


Bucky Barnes and the Bucky Bear

by asexysteve



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Bear - Freeform, Fluffy Angst, M/M, Nostalgia, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-29 14:50:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13929345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asexysteve/pseuds/asexysteve
Summary: Bucky wants a Bucky Bear and so he gets one.





	Bucky Barnes and the Bucky Bear

He looks at the teddy bear in its blue jacket, black domino mask, and cheerful grin. There's a jaunty hat on its head and the brown eyes gleam from behind the fabric. 

It's cute. Approachable and appropriate as a toy for the fabled child sidekick to the Captain. 

Bucky wants one. 

He wants to hold the soft fur- is it velvety?- against his chest and close his eyes as he takes in the plush toy that represented himself to a generation of children.

A Bucky Bear, a comfortable companion to the hilarious Captain Bear. It was nowhere near as popular as the Bucky Bear had been, or even continued to be. The great icon for masculinity couldn't be reduced down to a simple teddy bear, it was emasculating and wouldn't do in terms of war related propaganda. 

But the plucky teen sidekick that followed Captain America and his Howling Commandos around was an acceptable option. Bucky rolls his eyes at the teddy bear safely ensconced behind glass with a picture of his comic book self in the history museum. 

Bucky pulled out his phone, a gift from Steve who'd gotten it from Tony that would let the paranoid super soldier track him no matter where he was. He opened his browser and looked for the nearest place that sold Bucky Bears. They were vintage toys now, so he figured he'd have a hard time. 

But apparently the gift shop sold them. 

He wasted no time, striding purposefully through the museum to the front where he could go to the gift shop. He hunted through the menagerie of toys, books, magnets, pencils, clothing, and weirdly alcohol, until he found a small display with the Bucky Bears on it. There were about a dozen of them, settled on a table with their brown eyes reflecting the light through their domino masks. They all wore the same blue jacket with it's off center buckles. 

He's careful as he squeezes the first bear. It's fur is soft and chill to the touch. It gives under his hand, but it’s not what he wants. He repeats the process, ignoring the looks of people around him, he continues feeling them until the eighth one. It feels softer than the others had and it's exactly what Bucky wanted. 

He holds it close to his chest, in the crook of his elbow and something he doesn't recognize blooms in him. Something warm and comforting that he barely remembers. 

He doesn't remember the walk home, back to the apartment that he shares with Steve. But he's content to sit curled up in the overstuffed armchair Steve has shoved under a large window. The Bucky Bear is pressed to his chest, his arms wrapped around the soft stuffed animal, supported by his thighs. 

It feels right, comfortable, holding something so delicate. He could rip the bear in half, if he put his mind to it. But he doesn't want to. He wants to bury his face in the soft fur and breath in the memories it drags out of him. Memories of the campus they used to make and the reading from the fellas when they’d managed to scare up a Bucky Bear. 

Steve had loved it. Would steal it from them after the jokes had played out and keep it in his tent. He had had nine of them before the train. Before the ice. Before Hydra.

Bucky breathes slow, buries his face in the soft fur at the back of the bear's head and ignores the stiff fabric if it's hat pressing against his forehead. It's the past. It's gone. They're okay now. 

Steve is safe. Bucky is safe. 

Hydra might not be gone, but they're underground enough that it'll be a long time before they're free again. 

He breathes in the fur, breathes in the smell of home around him and relaxes into the familiarity. 

“Where did you find that?” Steve asks softly, a big hand sliding through Bucky's hair. 

“The children's museum,” he mumbles into the bear’s fur. “The guys used to tease me about it. You’d collect them all.” 

Steve chuckles softly. “You pretended to hate them.” 

“I didn't hate them,” Bucky mutters, looking at the blond man standing beside him. 

“That's why I collected them. You used to steal one and shove it in your bag. Used it as a pillow.” 

“They smelled like you,” Bucky confesses, burying his face in the bear's fur again. 

Steve kisses the back of his head and laughs softly. “Bring the bear, I’ll spray my cologne on it for you,” he suggests as he walks toward the bedroom they sometimes share. Bucky smiles into his bear’s fur and uncurls to follow the other man.

**Author's Note:**

> i didn't have this beta'd, so if you notice or spot anything, please let me know!


End file.
